Kolbasz, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mushrooms, and Roasted Beets and Carrots

I've detailed how I like to make my own sausages and cured meats.  Of course making them means I get to eat them.  While I try not to, I still end up sticking with a couple of tried and true combinations for meals to utilize them.  When I get to pair a sausage I made with something that came from our garden then things are even better.


This past fall was the second time I'd tried my hand at raising Brussels sprouts.  We finally got some this spring.  I think the key, at least in our area, is to plant them in the fall and hope they over winter well.  Since we had a very mild winter this year the Brussels sprouts did well.  The first picking yielded 18 lovely sprouts.  I already knew I would be making Brussels sprouts with bacon and mushrooms but I hadn't decided on anything else.

Brussels sprouts fresh from the garden

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mushrooms


18 Brussels sprouts
1/2 lb bacon, cut in 1/2 inch lardon
8 oz sliced mushrooms
salt
pepper


Trim the Brussels sprouts and slice in half.  Steam until almost done, about 3 minutes.  Fry bacon in skillet until desired doneness and remove from skillet.  Use bacon grease to cook the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper.  When the mushrooms are halfway done, add the Brussels sprouts to the skillet cut side down.  Cook until the mushrooms are done and the cut side of the sprouts has gotten some color.  Add the bacon back to the skillet and stir/shake to get everything combined.  Leave on the heat long enough to reheat the bacon.  Serve and enjoy.

Kolbasz, Brussels sprouts with bacon and mushrooms, and roasted beets and carrots

As fate would have it, we were in a small local shop that usually has a table near the checkout full of wines that are only $7.50 that we usually take a look at.  For a good cooking wine or just an every day table wine you don't have to get a high priced wine.  Save the high priced stuff for special occasions.  One  of the wines was a Hungarian red wine with the name Bull's Blood.  The name intrigued me so I had a look at the label.  It said it was good with grilled meats and spicy foods.  A light went off as I thought about the kolbasz I had made a few weeks ago.  Surely a Hungarian wine would go well with a Hungarian style sausage.  That settled the protein part of the meal to go with the Brussels sprouts.


Roasted beets was something I'd been wanting to try so this seemed like a good opportunity.  The good wife has liked beets as long as I've known her, whether they were canned or pickled.  I'd never cared for them.  I started growing them because she wanted them for making pickled beets.  I'm a fan of the home canned beets.  I'd also sliced beets and grilled them with good results.  I just hadn't oven roasted any.  This past fall I'd planted a mix of seeds to try different varieties, alas, they didn't produce as well as the Detroit Reds had.  That said, I did have a golden beet and a red and white beet that had gotten to a decent size.  I used them to try roasted beets and added some carrots from the store as we'd finished the ones we'd grown.


Roasted Beets and Carrots


2 - 3 beets
2 - 3 medium carrots
olive oil
salt
pepper


Cut the beets and carrots into cubes of the same size.  Put in bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put on baking sheet and put in 425F oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and toss then return to oven for another 15 minutes.  The beets and carrots should be tender and slightly caramelized.


I put a small rack on the baking sheet and put the kolbasz in with the beets and carrots for the last 15 minutes.  This reheated the kolbasz and crisped the casing up nicely.  Not surprising at all is the fact that a Hungarian red wine paired well with a Hungarian style sausage.\


I hope you try at least one of these at some point.  They are all easily done and quite tasty.  Let me know what you think of them.


Uncle T